The Big Picture

Sean and Amanda are joined by our music biopic correspondent, Yasi Salek, to unpack their complicated feelings on the highly anticipated musical biopic ‘Michael.’ Before diving into the movie, they quickly cover some movie news: most importantly, the ‘Miami Vice’ reboot getting a new title and a release date (1:51). Then, they break down all of the good, the bad, and the ugly with ‘Michael’ and highlight why the re-creation of Michael Jackson’s music feels deeply special but is ultimately inside of something hollow and uninteresting (10:31). Next, they discuss David Lowery’s new gothic fantasia musical, ‘Mother Mary,’ starring Anne Hathaway, which they praise for its beautiful filmmaking and nuanced and complicated portrayal of relationships, creativity, and fame (55:14). Finally, Lowery joins the show and explains why casting Hathaway and Michaela Coel was crucial to the movie’s success, how ‘The Green Knight’ helped him realize he wanted to work on something smaller in scale, and why making the movie felt like a supernatural experience (1:10:10).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guests: David Lowery and Yasi Salek

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

Camera Operators: Sarah Reddy, Donald LoBianco, and Ryan Todd
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Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve done it. On our 900th episode, we answer all of your questions about movies, the show itself, aioli, and everything in between (2:11). Then, Sean and Amanda briefly cover a handful of recent releases, including ‘You, Me & Tuscany,’ ‘The Christophers,’ and ‘Blue Heron’ (1:53:46). Finally, Sophy Romvari joins the show to discuss her debut feature film, ‘Blue Heron,’ and explain what informed specific technical decisions and the direction on set for this deeply personal project (2:10:08).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Sophy Romvari

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh

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Sean and Amanda are joined by Puck’s Matt Belloni to recap their trip to the annual Hollywood Studio and theatrical exhibitor trade show CinemaCon! First, they break down their trip to Las Vegas and review their experience seeing ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at the Sphere (1:12). Then, they discuss the general state of movies in 2026 and share all of their main takeaways from CinemaCon (18:14). To close out the show, they each share their five most anticipated movies coming out of the event (54:21).

Have a question for our 900th episode mailbag? Email us at [email protected] or call us at 323-488-3241 and leave a message!

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Matt Belloni

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh 
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On today’s show, Sean and Amanda bring back the Summer Movie Preview game—with some additional clarity around scoring—where they preview every major release slated across the summer and predict its box office and Metacritic score (4:47). Then, Sean is joined by Daniel Goldhaber to discuss his new film, ‘Faces of Death,’ starring Barbie Ferreira. He cites how the attention economy has drastically impacted young people’s lives, why he’s pushing the envelope of including radical leftist politics into his work, and breaks down his personal experience with the studio system (1:28:52).

Have a question for our 900th episode mailbag? Email us at [email protected] or call us at 323-488-3241 and leave a message! 

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Guest: Daniel Goldhaber

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh
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In anticipation of ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,’ Sean and Amanda embark on a staggering journey to build the Meryl Streep Hall of Fame. Before making their list, they react to the official lineup of films announced to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and go through some other smaller movie news headlines (0:48). Then, they talk through what makes Streep one of the greatest actors of all time and sort through every one of her 64 feature film performances across her illustrious career (16:58).

Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins

Producer: Jack Sanders

Production Support: Lucas Cavanagh
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